Rich Vleck, DUNDEE, NY, (July 5, 2013)- After winning 7 out of the 10 regular season events at Black Rock last season, John Waters had come back down to start of 2013 with his presence in Victory Lane noticeably absent. The defending track champion changed that in a big way though on Friday Night.

It was a big night at Black Rock Speedway. The pits were crammed with 116 race cars, due in large part it being the Black Rock/ Raceway 5 Challenge. Rain in the area was forecasted, and that almost came to fruition during the heats when heavy rains hit downtown Dundee and moisture was even felt in the pits, but thankfully avoided the racetrack. Towards the end of the night, a wild and massive fireworks show left every fan more than pleased.

Waters, of Whitesville, dominated the BRP CanAm Late Model Series event, leading the final 17 laps of the 25-lap feature which was presented by D.B. Miles Insurance Agency and Doug Gross Construction. Waters is also a favorite when he pulls into Black Rock, but tonight he was under some added challenges.

“I got about two and a half hours of sleep tonight because we got into an altercation last night (at Little Valley) and were up until about 5:00 A.M. working on the car and then getting right back up to work on it this morning,” noted Waters afterwards. “The guys did a great job, not just putting this thing back together, but getting it right, getting the setup good.”

Jason Knowles quickly took the lead at the start of the feature and controlled the bottom, but Waters, who started fourth, showed instant contention as he reeled in the No. 4. Waters took the lead on lap nine but even though he had convincingly moved forward, Jeremy Wonderling was also on a similar charge to the front.

Wonderling, who won his heat, started 12th but was up to the 2nd position by lap 13. It appeared that two of the top guns of the series would ago duke it out, but throughout the second half of the race Waters kept Wonderling at bay.

Waters had to endure three late-race restarts to capture the tour win, one of the events which eluded him last season, when he finished third. Incidently, Wonderling was also second on that night and to complete the podium flip-flop, Bruce Miller, the driver that won the 2012 event, finished third this time around after a hard-fought effort in the top groove. Mikey Wonderling and Glenn Whritenhour completed the top five.

Donnie Lawson has seen just about every type of race unfold in his years of running at Black Rock; one of the many things he has learned in that time is that sometimes opportunities can just present themselves if you are patient and that is just what happened on Friday Night as the three-time division champion, took the lead from Dale Welty shortly after a lap 16 restart to claim his second win of the year on the 4/10-mile oval.

Lawson started in sixth and was stagnant in that position until after the race’s first caution on lap 7. On the restart, leader Ross Vleck slowed on the backstretch with what turned out to be a broken u-joint. That would hand the lead back over to Nicole Hoag, but it was also about the time when Lawson started making his moves to the front.

Hoag handed the lead over to Welty on a lap nine restart when she chose the bottom lane, on the ensuing restart, Lawson would also move by her and begin to apply pressure to the leader. Welty slipped up the track on the final restart and Lawson capitalized to expand on his point lead. Welty held off Hoag for second, while Ron Cartwright and Shannon Whaley drove up to complete the top five.

Jeremy Potzrebowski has been among the elite drivers in the street stock division all year long but it was not until Friday Night that he was able to visit Victory Lane.

Potzrebowski took the lead on the second lap from Dylan Cecce and then kept a steady distance over Cecce and hard-charging Rich Sharpsteen II for his long-awaited victory while the locals rounded out the podium.

Chris Fleming was not even planning on running at Black Rock on the night but when Brewerton Speedway rained out, he traveled down to Dundee to see if he could turn his luck around, which he did in a big way, scoring the 20 lap IMCA Modified win.

Fleming, of Auburn, NY, took the lead from Phil Yaw on a lap 17 restart when the No. 98 skated up the track and held on for his sixth win of the season, his first at BRS. Yaw appeared as if he would cruise to his first IMCA-sanctioned win for most of the event, but would slip back to third as Mike Smith moved by on the final lap.

James Kreidler III won his third race of the year in the Signs Plus of Kanona 4-Cylinder feature, taking the lead on lap eight when the three cars ahead of him got tangled together and cleared the way for the No. 79k. From that point he could not be touched by a strong contingent of cars which included Del Cummings and Brian Grant, who completed the top three positions.

Brad Shepard scored the win in the FWD 4-cylinder feature, leading wire-to-wire. Shepard came down as part of the Black Rock/Raceway 5 Challenge and despite battling mechanical issues early in the night was untouchable during the feature.

To kick off the night, Brandon Mathews made short order of the field in the bandit feature, as he took the lead on lap three from Allison Teed, but upon a post race technical inspection his car was disqualified.

Mathews and Teed did come together on lap four, cutting a tire down on Teed’s No. 14. She would be able to make repairs and drive back up to second in the running order, which would in turn earn her the win.

Black Rock is back in action next Friday and Saturday with a pair of events featuring monster trucks and their destructive friends. A full card of racing is also slated for Friday Night, minus the late models. For more information, visit www.BlackRockSpeedway.com.